Hard Starts, Fuel Pressure, and a Verizon Hum

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doncaruana

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I wanted to start a new thread because the previous one was so long and things have changed (but aren't resolved).

To recap, I had a long standing hard start issue when it was warm. If it was cold (eg overnight), no issue. But if it ran for a bit, then sat for an hour or two, I would get a hard start that would either get an instant stall or just a really long crank and not start, but the second crank worked quickly and perfectly every time. And when this would happen, I'd get a p1351 code and a p0161 code. This happened fairly regularly and conventional wisdom here was that there was likely an issue with the check valve on the fuel pump.

Took it to a shop and they said it needed a new ECM. They gave it back to me with the new ECM programmed to the wrong VIN, which caused *different* codes to get thrown (P0137, P0141), but I remedied that right away and the new codes went away. After it was properly programmed is where things change.

I had it reprogrammed on 2/22 and then in the next month got the P0161 code a couple of times and had a few hard starts, although it never stalled and I haven't seen the P1351 code again. It wasn't driven as much during this time either for other reasons. And I still got long cranks time and again that seemed to follow the same pattern of warm but sitting for a bit. Old shop said they couldn't find anything wrong, took it to a new one (3/22) and they said it was losing pressure when sitting and said they smelled gas at the intake and suggested maybe the fuel pressure regulator was the issue.

Now, for the extra twist in this, I had a Verizon hum in this and have for 4 years. But right before I took it to the new shop, Verizon updated the hum so it was no longer compatible with my truck. I pulled it out for good the day I took it to the new shop and put a Bouncie unit in when I got it back.

Since then I haven't had any codes and no stalls. Yesterday in the warm/sat-a-bit scenario it had a slightly long crank (like a full second as opposed to pretty much instant), but not the problematic one and ran fine. And, through all of this, once started there are no issues.

Wow...that was a lot. Now...I can't wrap my head around how we got here. The ECM did *something* - the P1351 and stalls are gone. But still had long cranks and the P0161 codes. After the second shop tested it - and the hum is gone - no codes at all and only a very occasional long crank that still isn't that long. And my mileage, as calculated by Bouncie, is pretty good - 14.6mpg overall, and I don't have any classic symptoms of a bad fuel pressure regulator.

I want to go back to the first shop and get some money back but did they fix *something*? Believe it or not, I want a clear conscience. LOL. Could the hum have been causing part of the issue? None of this addresses the next step because I just want to try to understand what happened before taking another action. Especially since I have a ton of money I could potentially recover - but I want to be fair about that.

I will preemptively and collectively thank everyone here. This board is just the best and has helped me SO much!!
 

Eman85

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What in the world is a Verizon Hum or a Bouncie unit?
 
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doncaruana

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What in the world is a Verizon Hum or a Bouncie unit?
They provide location and diagnostic type info. Kind of like a cheaper version of what onstar does only for aftermarket.
 

Eman85

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I have always steered clear of aftermarket stuff added to my vehicles. I was a dealer tech and every time sales sold aftermarket stuff to the car buyer we would eventually end up taking it off in the shop when it caused problems.
 
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doncaruana

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I have always steered clear of aftermarket stuff added to my vehicles. I was a dealer tech and every time sales sold aftermarket stuff to the car buyer we would eventually end up taking it off in the shop when it caused problems.
It had been in for 4 years. Never was a problem. Might not have even been a problem with this either. Just trying to sort everything out.
 

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